1. Is Alitlia a good choice? Flying into Palermo and out of Rome.
2. Our options are the last 1/2 of May or the first 1/2 of Nov. Which is best?
3. We are 2 grandmothers, and not about to tackle driving in Sicily. Anyone had experience with Rick Steves' Sicily and Southern Italy tour?

How well do you do with heat? The last half of May could mean afternoons pushing into the 90s.

November could mean some rain.

I don't see any reason not to fly Alitalia. All the carriers that fly to Sicily are subject to weather cancellations, and sometimes strikes. I wouldn't worry about it. Just make sure you check your flight time 24 hours before departure. Your hotel can do this for you.

As long as you stay out of the major cities, driving in Sicily is no different than driving in any other part of Italy. In fact, it's a bit more modern, and Sicily is less hill. My mother is a great-grandmother and I wouldn't hesitate to tell her to get a car to see some sights.

Where are you going?

My DH and I (grandparents) took a RS
Sicily/S.Italy tour this autumn. It
was exactly as described on his website/
brochure.

I think the May dates would be perfect
for Sicily - it can get VERY warm from
then on until the end of September.

Thanx for the replies, nessundorma (such a beautiful aria) & llamalady. It sure helps to get some verification in making choices.

Some posters mentioned that Alitalia (spelled correctly this time) was in financial difficulty, & Delta, the only other airline I can see that makes Palermo with 1 stop, isn't all that sound, either. Just book it?

I'm not quite sure how one can drive around Sicily without getting into the cities. Would you park outside the city & take a bus in? Would the car be safe there? Also, the car has to be picked up near the airport--a big city. I'm curious.

Alitalia is owned by the Italian government, so while it is true that it is in a lot of financial difficulty, it's not going out of business. However, there are other airlines -- Alpi Eagles and AirOne -- that fly to Palermo and Catania.

The airport in Palermo is about 30 miles west of Palermo. Many people fly to Palermo, rent a car and simply head off to someplace else -- like Agrigento or Siracusa. Other people fly to Palermo, take the short train trip into the city, tour the city for a few days, and then return to the airport to rent a car. (Or you can do it backwards: fly, rent the car, tour the sights, return the car, visit the city of Palermo.)

Nessundorma

Now that makes sense!

We just returned on 11/8 from 2 weeks in Sicily. Eurofly airline has a direct flight out of JFK to Palermo on Tuesdays with a return on Wednesdays. Contact Euroflyusa.com for reservations/ info. Many hotels and sites were closed/closing by the end of October. Travel guide hours for many sites were not reliable.

I would pick last half of may over November. We were in Sicily last april and flew into Catania and out of Palermo by AirOne, member of Star Alliance (Lufthansa, United, USAir etc..). The one way car rental was a perfect choice and without drop off surcharges in the other city. No problem to drive through the island or any safety concerns.., but avoid to drive through the city of Palermo or Catania. It was very crowded.
It was a wonderful trip !!

My husband and I spent 10 days in Sicily Nov 10th through Nov 20th. We had beautiful weather. Cool nights, mostly warm days with one bordering on hot in Agrigento! We flew Alitalia from Palermo to Milan and it was quite pleasant. Sorry, no experience with Rick Steves' tours. Hope this helps.

We arrived Palermo via ferry from Civitivecchia and coming back, flew AirOne out of Catania to Rome. Would recommend flying over the ferryboat.
We were there in mid-October and the weather was lovely, but May would be good also, spring flowers, etc.
Driving in cities in Sicily can be frightening, and on some 2 lane roads when cars are passing cars that are passing cars. (A lot of cars lack side mirrors, having had them ripped off in close encounters).